http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idIU8Htava0
Summary: This commercial was for Dorito's chips. The commercial presents a man acting like an annoying bird; taking food from other people, attempting to fly, and squawking. The normal acting people around him are annoyed, obviously, and an onlooker asks men who the bird-man must work with what is wrong with him. They say that he acts that way when he wants Doritos, and they play tricks on him as if it happens all the time.
Source: This commercial is shown across the U.S on public television for the Doritos company. Doritos has made many funny advertisements like this. The commercial is not reliable at all, as no one would act the way the bird-man did. Also, the advertisement is very biased, as the company only wants people to buy their product, not present actual facts.
Context: The commercial was made for the Doritos brand, who wanted to show how much people love Doritos in a comical way. The exigence would be to sell their product, much like any other advertisement.
Purpose: The purpose of the advertisement is to show how good Doritos are that people go crazy when they do not have them, and then make people buy their product. The company also made the commercial funny, in order to catch the attention of an audience and make the advertisement memorable. The commercial accomplishes this purpose.
Rhetorical Devices: The commercial is very humorous, in order to make it memorable and make people want to buy the product. It also appeals to communal memory, because shows the actions of a pigeon or other pesky bird, and if someone did not know what these birds were like they would not understand the humor of the advertisement.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
AOW #23: IRB Post
In the first 3rd of my IRB, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the author introduces us to the characters and gives an idea of what the the plot will be about. From the beginning of the story Hunter S. Thompson mentions a trip for a young man and his attorney to Las Vegas because he is a writer. It is not really clear why he has to go to Las Vegas with his attorney, but the author goes through the step by step process of the materials that they gather such as a car and drugs, which also seem to be a very important part of the story. The majority of the time the two men are high, driving through the desert and stopping at odd motels. The author explains his hallucinations at each of the stops and makes the entire story seem dreamlike, as if it is not really happening, but at the same time it is.
The point of view is first person, and seems as though Thomson gives himself a different name of Raoul Duke. He is with his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, the entire time. Gonzo seems to be the character in the story who brings Duke and the reader back to reality, as he explains what Duke actually experienced after Duke describes his hallucinations of lizards and screaming monsters in various hotels. Without Gonzo, the reader might suppose the entire experience of Duke is simply a dream.
There is no specific setting yet, but the travel from town to town on the way to Las Vegas makes the entire story much more interesting. As they visit different hotels and settings you meet different people, and Duke seems to see them all in a different way with his hallucinations. I think that the author does this to expose the reality of how he sees humans, as lizards and monsters who all have hidden agendas and are willing to eat you in order to get what they want.
The point of view is first person, and seems as though Thomson gives himself a different name of Raoul Duke. He is with his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, the entire time. Gonzo seems to be the character in the story who brings Duke and the reader back to reality, as he explains what Duke actually experienced after Duke describes his hallucinations of lizards and screaming monsters in various hotels. Without Gonzo, the reader might suppose the entire experience of Duke is simply a dream.
There is no specific setting yet, but the travel from town to town on the way to Las Vegas makes the entire story much more interesting. As they visit different hotels and settings you meet different people, and Duke seems to see them all in a different way with his hallucinations. I think that the author does this to expose the reality of how he sees humans, as lizards and monsters who all have hidden agendas and are willing to eat you in order to get what they want.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
AOW #22: Article
http://entertainment.time.com/2012/02/11/the-voice-of-america-whitney-houston-1963-2012/
Summary: This article was about the recent death of singer Whitney Houston. Instead of reacting to her death, the article is much more a biography of her life and a description of her talents. The author describes her beauty and amazing voice. Only at the end of the article the author briefly mentions some of the darker times in her life or drug use and the downfall of her career as a musician. The article summarizes her life and her impact on others.
Content: This article was about deceased singer Whitney Houston. The exigence of this story was her recent and sudden death, which many believe was caused by her drug use.
Source/Author: I found this article on the website TIME magazine, one of the most popular and trusted magazines read by Americans and published worldwide. Howard Chua-Eoan has written about breaking news and has been News Director since 2002. Since then he has written on a wide range of topics for TIME magazine and other magazines and newspapers.
Purpose: The author's purpose was to focus less on the death of Whitney Houston and summarizing her life. To do this Chua-Eoan does not mention her death in the article at all. If one read the article without seeing the title you would not be aware that Whitney Houston did just pass away. This is so that the reader is forced to focus on her life's legacy instead on her death. I believe that she accomplished this purpose.
Rhetorical Devices: The structure of this article shows the author's purpose to force the reader to focus on the good and talent of Houston. He begins on his first impression of her, which allows the reader to use their communal memory for the first time that they see someone and their own impressions. His description of this vision allows the reader to feel a connection to Houston as if they had seen her in person themselves. The author also does not mention Whitney's bad qualities or drug use until the very last paragraph, after he mentions all the good in her career. This would cause the reader to possibly develop a bias which overlooks her bad habits mentioned briefly at the very end of the article.
Summary: This article was about the recent death of singer Whitney Houston. Instead of reacting to her death, the article is much more a biography of her life and a description of her talents. The author describes her beauty and amazing voice. Only at the end of the article the author briefly mentions some of the darker times in her life or drug use and the downfall of her career as a musician. The article summarizes her life and her impact on others.
Content: This article was about deceased singer Whitney Houston. The exigence of this story was her recent and sudden death, which many believe was caused by her drug use.
Source/Author: I found this article on the website TIME magazine, one of the most popular and trusted magazines read by Americans and published worldwide. Howard Chua-Eoan has written about breaking news and has been News Director since 2002. Since then he has written on a wide range of topics for TIME magazine and other magazines and newspapers.
Purpose: The author's purpose was to focus less on the death of Whitney Houston and summarizing her life. To do this Chua-Eoan does not mention her death in the article at all. If one read the article without seeing the title you would not be aware that Whitney Houston did just pass away. This is so that the reader is forced to focus on her life's legacy instead on her death. I believe that she accomplished this purpose.
Rhetorical Devices: The structure of this article shows the author's purpose to force the reader to focus on the good and talent of Houston. He begins on his first impression of her, which allows the reader to use their communal memory for the first time that they see someone and their own impressions. His description of this vision allows the reader to feel a connection to Houston as if they had seen her in person themselves. The author also does not mention Whitney's bad qualities or drug use until the very last paragraph, after he mentions all the good in her career. This would cause the reader to possibly develop a bias which overlooks her bad habits mentioned briefly at the very end of the article.
Friday, February 3, 2012
AOW #21: IRB Post
This marking period I will be reading the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson. This book is an autobiography of Thompson's life, following Raoul Duke and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, on a trip to Las Vegas involving a good amount of drugs. The book was written in the late 60's, and was first a two-part piece in Rolling Stones magazine until it was later printed as a book. It was turned into a movie later with Johnny Depp, which makes me think that this book will be much like Blow which Depp was also in involving cocaine.
Hunter S. Thompson has written other books such as The Rum Diary, The Curse of Lono, and Hell's Angels. He is also known for be a life-long user of cocaine, LSD, alcohol, and ending his own life in 2005. He is now known for creating Gonzo Journalism, where writers turn themselves into characters in a story based on personal experiences, such as he has done in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I am interested to find out what happens on this journey to Las Vegas, and try to figure out what started Thompson's drug addiction.
Hunter S. Thompson has written other books such as The Rum Diary, The Curse of Lono, and Hell's Angels. He is also known for be a life-long user of cocaine, LSD, alcohol, and ending his own life in 2005. He is now known for creating Gonzo Journalism, where writers turn themselves into characters in a story based on personal experiences, such as he has done in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I am interested to find out what happens on this journey to Las Vegas, and try to figure out what started Thompson's drug addiction.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)